Tottenham have broken their transfer record 10 times and Jose Mourinho can reap the rewards

Roberto Soldado had the support of the fans but never found goals easy to come by at Spurs

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Tottenham during the break

Sergiy Rebrov (2000/01) - £11m

With Ferdinand ageing and Armstrong coming to the end of his career, Spurs almost doubled their transfer record in signing Sergiy Rebrov from Dynamo Kiev.

He had averaged more than a goal every other game for the Ukrainian side, but struggled to reproduce that form in the Premier League.

He struck nine goals in 29 games in his first season before he was frozen out of the side by incoming manager Glenn Hoddle.

Sergei Rebrov never made his mark at Tottenham Hotspur

Rebrov was sent on consecutive loan spells to Fenerbahce before he, like Ferdinand, moved on to West Ham in 2004. Another difficult spell in London followed and he finally made his way back to Dynamo Kiev, where he once again found himself among the goals.

Darren Bent (2007/08) - £16.5m

Six years after Rebrov, Spurs broke their record once more to sign Darren Bent.

Bent had shown himself a natural in front of goal with Charlton and seemed ready for the step up, but he failed to find his rhythm in the first 12 months.

The striker hit just eight goals in all competitions as he struggled to gel alongside Robbie Keane, but 12 months later the latter’s move to Liverpool created space upfront.

Darren Bent celebrates a goal for Tottenham Hotspur.

Now the main man, Bent finished as the club’s top goalscorer the following season with 17 goals.

But with Keane returning the season after following a failed stint at Anfield, Bent was surplus to requirements and moved on to Sunderland where he once again became poacher-in-chief.

Paulinho (2013/14) – 17m

Spurs’ record transfer signing for just a week, Brazilian Paulinho raised eyebrows as the largely unheard-of midfielder moved from Corinthians to north London.

A nightmare couple of years at Spurs sandwiched Brazil’s 7-1 loss to Germany at the 2014 World Cup – a game that Paulinho started.

He was moved on to Chinese side Guangzhou Evergrande but made an unexpected career revival as Barcelona signed him two years later for £36m.

(Image: Ben Hoskins/Getty Images)

Spent the rest of his career dividing his time between Barcelona and China.

Roberto Soldado (2013/14) - £26m

Within weeks of Paulinho’s arrival, Spurs broke their transfer record again by bringing in free-scoring Spaniard Roberto Soldado from Valencia.

With so much money spent, surely something would stick, but Soldado’s time at Tottenham went even worse.

Peaking with a penalty on his debut, Soldado managed just six goals in his first season and only two from open play.

Roberto Soldado during his time at Spurs.

Given an extra season to try his luck, this time Soldado managed just one goal in 24 Premier League appearances.

The striker moved back to La Liga with Villareal but failed to rediscover his best form.

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Erik Lamela (2013/14) - £26m + add-ons

Spurs broke their transfer record a third time that summer, and it’s just as well given how the first two turned out. This one went better.

Erik Lamela is still a Spurs player six years later and has proven himself a good servant to the club. Under the management of his fellow countryman Mauricio Pochettino, Lamela – often on the fringes of the first team – helped his side become a Premier League force and a regular in the Champions League.

Underrated and perhaps sometimes undervalued, but certainly worth the money Spurs paid for him over half a decade ago.

Moussa Sissoko (2016/17) – £31.5m

Widely considered a panic buy at the time, rivals mocked Spurs’ splurge on the often erratic Sissoko.

But the midfielder has proven his doubters wrong by becoming one of the club’s most important players.

He was a vital part of the run to the Champions League final last season after Pochettino managed to harness his somewhat unorthodox and unwieldy playing style to Spurs’ advantage.